


Songs of Yesterday

by Paint_It_Yellow



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Nonbinary Character, Other, Past Lives, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn, Tags to be added as fic progresses, but who knows they may get alluded to or something (don't bank on it), i don't have any plans for any other canon characters to show up, i think this counts as, they/them pronouns for yubel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28311969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_It_Yellow/pseuds/Paint_It_Yellow
Summary: Would you hear a tale from a far off land, one that no longer exists, wiped from the memory of all but two who fell yet stand? Time goes on, winter winds to spring gales. Live to leave, leave then live. Even once you've left one world behind, the soul still lives.Yubel and Judai don't know this, of course, but their souls are young still, yet to carve their first etching into the world's fickle face.
Relationships: Yubel/Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Hopeless Strangers (Tomorrow's Children)

When Yubel first met him, they couldn’t not know who he was. He was the prince- the king’s beloved and very pampered son, coddled after his mother had fallen ill and never really recovered. It was always glances, at first. Envious glances, but glances nonetheless. Oh, how they wished they could be him. A soft, comfortable bed for the night, two warm meals a day. Instead they shivered through thin, scratchy sheets and ate cold meals after they’d completed their work and scavenged scraps from the kitchens. 

But those weren’t meetings. Those were glances. The first meeting went as such: 

It was late afternoon and they were bringing in the washing from around the back of the castle when a too-late shout was sounded and suddenly the dry, clean washing was muddy and wet and they, too, were on the ground, crushed under the weight of… something. Or someone, more accurately. 

“Are you okay? I didn’t kill you, right?” A voice sounded as the weight was lifted from them and they finally pushed themself up to their feet to scowl at whoever had so ungracefully fell on them. Their mouth opened, about to give them a piece of their mind, before said mind stuttered to a halt. 

Of course. Of course it was him. They had heard rumours of his rambunctiousness and inability to listen to anybody but rarely had they seen so clearly an example. 

“I’m perfectly all right, your royal highness,” they said through gritted teeth. “Though I must ask that you don’t go climbing trees unsupervised, lest you truly damage something important or yourself.”

The prince frowned and just knowing he was going to speak back ticked them off. “But there was a cat! Cats don’t usually sit in trees so I thought-” 

“Cats are perfectly able of getting down from trees themselves. If you were truly concerned, you would get one of your assigned knights to get it down. Of whom I seem to be lacking in enjoying their presence. I’m sure your father would love to know that his knights are shirking their duty of guarding you.”

“Wh- no! You wouldn’t! I shook them off! It’s not their fault” The prince protested, eyes wide, as they gripped at Yubel’s forearm. They suppressed a wince. 

“They’re adults who have been employed specifically to protect and guard you and they’re failing at their job. Multiple highly trained knights versus one kid.”

“But…” He trailed off and Yubel let silence settle for a moment, just for long enough that they were sure he wasn’t going to say something else. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my work, sir.” They glanced purposefully down at where his hand still gripped their forearm and then to the scattered, now dirty washing. 

“Ah… Of course. Right.” He released his grip and went to help pick up the washing, but Yubel was swift and bundled it into their basket much faster than the young prince could ever hope. 

“If you’ll excuse me,” Yubel said with an accompanying bow, hurrying away before the prince could try and drag them back into conversation. 

The other servants did not find the muddy clothes at all funny, nor did Yubel make any excuses for it. So if they came down with a cold a few days later from washing clothes in cold water outside on an autumn morning before the sun had even risen, they knew who to blame. 

They knew they shouldn’t say it, but they hadn’t a shred of goodwill for the prince. 

* * *

The prince was a lot of things. Terrible at learning was not one of them. Terrible at sitting still, however, was. 

“I’m telling you, he just jumped out of the window,” his new mathematics teacher was trying to hurriedly tell the knights who had been standing outside at the time of his shriek. 

One of the knights sighed before spotting Yubel from the corner of his eye, despite them doing their best attempt to get away as quickly as possible. 

“You there, could you send the alert that the prince is on the run again?” 

“Right away, sir.” As soon as the words were out of their mouth they were on the move. 

If they could have they would have said ‘no, sorry. I’m a bit busy doing what I was employed for, do your work yourself’. But one of them had a sword and the other one didn’t, so that was that. 

So, they did what they were told. They alerted the guards outside that the prince had gotten out- the window this time. They laughed at it, Yubel did not. 

They couldn’t read but they ever so dearly wanted to. They doubted a lot of the knights could too, actually. They knew there were a few servants could, but they were on good terms with exactly one servant and that servant was not one of them. It was for this reason, perhaps, that they found the prince’s continued lack of respect for his academic education ridiculous. 

They were expecting that to be the last they heard of the matter that day except for maybe a minor gossip session between the other servants when they had their break in the kitchens. They almost hoped it would be. Fate had never been so kind to them. 

It was when they were passing the queen’s room on their way back that they heard the loud, tell-tale voice of the prince. It was muffled by the thick door, but it was annoying enough to definitely be his. 

They stood there for an immeasurable length of time, hand raised and ready to knock. Should they? It would be impudent to interrupt, not to mention go into the queen’s own room, even if she permitted it… it would simply be wrong. But the prince was missing his lesson. Which he had run out on. And Yubel had been given orders to be on the lookout. And, well. Yubel definitely did not hold grudges, but he did owe them one. Or a few. 

That in their mind, they sucked in a breath and knocked on the door, waiting in bated breath for a possible response. 

“Come in,” came a quiet yet firm voice. 

And so they did. They kept their eyes fixed firmly to the floor while keeping their head up as high as they could at the same time. 

“Your majesty, I am terribly sorry to interrupt you, but the prince is currently missing his mathematics lesson. He is causing quite the disturbance between the knights and the new tutor.”

“Is that so? I was never informed of this.”

Yubel hazarded a glance up, only to find the prince cowering under the gaze of his mother, and they certainly didn’t miss the way he attempted to sneak a glare at them. Something in them felt rather happy managing to achieve such a feat. 

The prince remained silent. 

“Judai, do you have anything to say for yourself?” The queen asked her son. Her tone was completely level but, somehow, it radiated power. As if she weren’t laying sick in bed, as she did most days nowadays. Yubel wasn’t sure whether to be envious or in awe. 

“I- uh. It’s really boring! I don’t get why I need to learn it now!” 

“It’s important for ruling a country, you know this.”

“But I’m not ruling a country now!”

“But you will one day, and if I leave you behind unable to rule it will be my failing as both a mother and a queen.”

The prince squaked at the implication, hurrying to his mother’s bedside. “You’re not going anywhere though! Right?” 

“Not anytime soon, one would hope,” the queen conceded and the young boy visibly relaxed. “But I will inevitably pass away, as all living things do.” He tensed again. 

“You keep saying scary stuff like that…” 

“It’s not scary, it’s just a fact of life, dear. Now get back to your lesson, will you,” she planted a kiss on his forehead then rustled his hair, despite his exclamations of protest. 

There was a pregnant pause before he sighed and pouted. “Fine. Just this once.” 

He ran out as his mother yelled after him, “every time, please.” 

“Madam,” Yubel said with a bow, and was about to head out before they were stopped. 

“Stay a minute,” the queen said. “I’d like to talk.”

“O-of course, Madam,” they responded. They couldn’t very well turn down the queen. They liked their life. Well, the queen seemed like she might not kill them, but they wouldn’t find a better job at their age and they’d die without one. They liked their life, they reiterated. 

“It’s nothing bad, I promise. Come here.” Yubel moved from their place at the door to stand beside the queen’s bed. “What’s your name?” 

“Ah, uh. Yubel.” No one told them how suffocating it would be to be alone with proper royalty- not that the prince wasn’t proper royalty, it was just… different.

“I see… I never knew we employed such young servants.” It wasn’t phrased like a question but it seemed she was looking for an answer. 

“I’m the youngest by a fair amount. I was employed on behalf of my mother, who used to work in the kitchen. A favour from an old friend.” 

The queen paused before humming. “I see. Could you tell me something?” 

“If I am able to, I will.”

“What’s Judai like around the castle? I only ever see him when he’s able to come and see me, and I am aware that children act differently among their peers than with their parents.”

Yubel wasn’t really sure how to answer and suddenly, they wished they’d paid more attention to what the prince did around the castle. 

“He is energetic and active.” They chose their words carefully. “When he has a goal it is unlikely that he will be stopped, and he seems to show most of his strategic skills in these moments. He makes friends easily and seems to have quite the interest in others. I can’t say I have seen it in effect myself, but I have heard that he is quite the people magnet among his peers, as well.”

“I see,” the queen replied indifferently, and for a moment they wondered if they’d said something wrong. “Do me a favour, would you? I understand that our positions are unimaginably different, but this is not an order, just a favour. From me to you.”

“Of course, as long as it’s within my abilities.”

“Keep an eye on that boy for me. He needs a friend. Someone to confide in.” The unspoken ‘when I’m gone’ hung in the air, as it seemed to a lot in conversations about the queen nowadays.

“Of course, madam. It would be my pleasure.” 

A short while after they exited, they found themself frowning at the wall opposite the now-closed door before sharply turning a quick one eighty and bashing their head against the wall. Lightly, of course, they couldn’t work with brain damage. Well. They sure had gotten themself into quite the situation, hadn’t they? 

* * *

Yubel, very deliberately so, made sure to run their schedule away from the quarters of the castle that they knew the prince was most likely to be in. They weren’t technically going against the queen’s orders, or so they said to themself; they were doing their job. 

Except that you can’t use that excuse when it’s God-only-knows past midnight and you’re sitting alone in the kitchen with an almost completely burnt out candle as your only light source, able to feel the tear tracks as though their fresh even though you know you’ll bring skin off if you try to rub more. 

‘Alone’, in that Yubel wasn’t, actually, alone. Or at some point they hadn’t been- they hoped it had only been a part of the time, they couldn’t stand it if the prince saw them sitting there, silently crying by candlelight. 

Yubel’s the one that catches him, but that’s just a nice way of phrasing it seeing as he’s the crown prince and all. Realistically speaking, he tripped on the cobble and smacked his face right into the ground, not even managing to cushion his fall with his arms. 

Shooting up from where they sat, Yubel rushed over, eyes wide and previous concerns momentarily put on hold. They may not be the biggest fan of the prince but he just slammed into cobble. 

“Your royal highness! Are you alright? What are you even doing down here? Not to mention at this hour!” They scrambled for his arm, lifting him back up to his feet before relaxing their grip, though not without a quick glance over for injuries. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” The prince waved it off brazenly, as though it wouldn’t be Yubel getting in trouble for his injuries- as small as they were- just for being present when it happened. “What are you doing here though? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” 

“I always worry about you, sir,” Yubel managed out under their breath, their tiredness seemingly making them less able to hold their tongue. 

They were about to splutter out a hasty apology when Judai laughed. 

“Thanks, I think? Don’t think I didn’t notice you didn’t answer my questions, though.” He smiled at them and they could only sigh in exasperation. 

“I could say the same about you, sir. Surely you should be sleeping at such a time. I doubt her majesty would like to hear of your late night escapade here tonight.”

Judai narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

Yubel only stared at him, unblinking, before he looked away and huffed. 

“Come on, sit down and let me clean up those wounds before they get infected.”

“Nothing will happen, they’re just scuffs. I get way worse in sword training.”

“I don’t care, sit.”

“I’ll sit if you answer my questions.”

Yubel could feel themself screaming even if their mouth was only pinned in the same unimpressed flat line as it had been before. Their vision hazed for a moment before they blinked and looked at the prince who stood just slightly smaller than them, eyes full of expectation. 

“Sit,” they gave in. 

It didn’t take long for them to procure a freshly damp rag and even as they sat cleaning what really were just scuffs on the prince’s knees they could feel his intense gaze on the top of their head. 

“You have purple hair,” the prince said. 

“That I do.”

“It’s pretty. Mine is just boring, common brown.”

They felt one of their eyes twitch. 

“You know, mother said that purple is the colour of royalty,” he continued, “maybe your hair’s a sign. I wouldn’t know what of, though. I’ll have to remember to ask mother. She knows a lot of things.”

Yubel stood up sharply, startling the prince. No, they did not get any satisfaction out of that, shut up. 

“Let me see your forehead.” 

The prince obligingly lifted his face, eyes boring into their face as though examining it. They couldn’t wait to be over with this; why was he so intense?

“So,” the prince spoke, “why are you down here at this hour? You did say you’d tell me.”

“And tell you I will,” they half-wished he’d forgotten about that, “but only after I’ve finished mopping up your blood-drenched forehead.”

He hummed but, thankfully, obediently stayed silent as they wiped up his face. Part of them wanted to savour the silence, but the second, more rational part, told them that doing so was just delaying the inevitable so they might as well get it over with. Like a kid eating the vegetables they don’t like first then draining the taste with something they prefer. 

As promised, as soon as they were done, they went to take place at the table opposite to the prince, setting the rag down beside them. The prince looked at them with a grin that they were unsure whether it was supposed to be encouraging or not- he always seemed to wear a smile of some sort. They were convinced it was just one of those things that nobles were trained to do and then never figured out how to stop. 

“My mother died today,” they said plainly, staring at the prince as passively as they could. 

The prince’s eyes widened, and he paused. Then he opened his mouth, closed it again, and looked at the space between Yubel and the candle between them before bringing his eyes back up to their own. 

“Do you… not want to visit home? To prepare for the funeral? I’m sure you would be allow-”

“No, she didn’t die on this very day,” Yubel interrupted. “What I mean is that today’s the anniversary of her death.”

“I see…” he seemed at a bit of a loss for words, which Yubel would maybe find amusing in a different context. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your pity.” It took everything in them not to snarl their words out. They’d gotten enough pity from the staff when it happened. 

“It’s not pity,” the prince said, his words much more firm than before, “I really am sorry. What was she like?” 

“She worked a lot.” Yubel suddenly felt drained, tired of putting on graces for the prince. They knew he wouldn’t mind, even if they wouldn’t admit it to themself. Decision made, they hunched forward, resting their head on their hand. “Bastard of a father ran out on us, so we had to support ourselves. She was already working here in the kitchen and they let me stay as long as I helped around. Somewhere along the line, I guess it just became a real, paying job. Then she fell sick one winter, as it goes, and there wasn’t much I could do to help. She wasn’t a frail woman by any means, so I doubt it was the illness that killed her, but overwork.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Yubel sighed and scratched their head. “You’ve said that already and, look, it’s fine. It was a few years ago now.” 

“I see…” The prince looked unimaginably sad now- not that Yubel was going to try to cheer him up. Their spirits were already down in the first place. They almost didn’t catch the whispered question, even with all the echo in the room and the deafening silence preceding it. “Can I just ask… how did you get over her death?” 

Yubel closed their eyes, and thought. Really thought. And hummed. 

“I suppose I never have,” they eventually said, quiet. “I never openly grieved. Time moves on, as soon as she died I knew I couldn’t grieve because it was just me against the world; me against the castle.”  
  
The prince looked stricken for a moment. Not the answer he wanted then, they guessed. 

“That’s sad.” Yubel almost laughed at how plain but incredibly earnest the prince sounded. “Really sad.”

“I’ve already said I don’t need your pity.”

“I know, it’s just- okay. Okay.” He cut himself off and the two just sat there in awkward silence. 

“Can I ask… why you want to know all this?” Yubel said finally, curiosity winning them over. 

The prince paused. “Ah, you just seemed like you needed to talk about it, you know?” That was a lie on the prince’s part, they could tell that clear as day. They wouldn’t call him out on it, though. Not now, at least. 

“I see…” 

“If you ever need to talk to someone, you can come and find me,” he said and as an afterthought, “maybe it would be… nice. Since I’m the only other kid in the castle.”

“Do you know all the servants in the castle? All the knights in training?” 

“No?” The prince tipped his head slightly to the side. 

“Then how do you know we’re the only two children?” 

He laughed like it came naturally to him. It probably did, Yubel realised on second thought. It was a bit loud for the time of night though, they wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up one of the lighter sleepers. “Call it gut instinct. Anyway, even if there were, this is as good an excuse to talk to you as any, right?” 

"And why would you need an excuse to talk to me, sir? Why would you even want to?” 

The prince hummed. “You seem sad. And angry. Just in general. Whenever I see you, you’re either sad or angry even if you try not to show it. It radiates off you. I think that’s saying something, I’ve been told I’m not good at reading people.”

They felt their face flush at the comment but restrained themself from saying anything regarding it. They were most certainly not always sad or angry. Apparently, though, their silence and scrunched brow told Judai everything he needed to hear, as he laughed once more. 

“Sorry,” he began. “This chat really made me feel better, though. Thanks.” 

“Uh, no problem, sir? Though you really needn’t thank me.”

The prince, in response, just smiled and waved before turning and heading the way he’d came in, though this time leaving with a bit less of a sour mood and more bruises. Yubel, though, they just stood and watched his retreating form. Then they stood and watched the doorway as it flickered into nothingness. 

What an odd conversation. It almost drew a flicker of a smile to Yubel’s lips. 

Maybe… 

Maybe the queen’s request wouldn’t be the worst thing they’d ever had to do.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello it's me again i'm back on my bullshit, hope everyone's having a good christmas or if you don't celebrate it, a good day in general! i usually upload a secret santa on this day, but this year i actually forgot to sign up so oops to that. but this is my gift to you all! i'll promise to try and finish it, since i've actually got proper chapter-by-chapter guides to work with which is new and exciting. 
> 
> if you've read any of my stuff you'd know that i typically use song titles and lyrics as inspiration for work and chapter titles and that's entirely truthful for this entire fic- every title will have at least one reference to a lyric from a song in the album [eye of the storm](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXoUTPV_PNyhihKaGEJnhMbaAIOQmEeUq) by tide lines. i'll point out the specific songs as the chapters go up. the over all fic though was initially inspired by the one that the fic and first chapter get their titles from- [Strangers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQj8pYFWDNs&list=PLXoUTPV_PNyhihKaGEJnhMbaAIOQmEeUq&index=5). 
> 
> The first part of the summary is actually also inspired by a song- but by another band this time (surprise surprise)- this time the songs are [still we run](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx4MCgOYoLI) and [anchors of the soul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Zri6EBvno) by skipinnish. 
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, have a good day and a good new year if i don't get a new chapter out by then!


	2. Midnight City (Path of Changes)

Lately, the prince had really been grating on Yubel’s good graces a lot more than he usually did- and just after they’d decided to give him a chance as well. It wasn’t a particular person’s fault, they wouldn’t have said, but every problem had a cause. The prince’s? The ball that was being held at the castle, much to the prince’s displeasure and, funnily enough, their’s. 

They didn’t really care to know why the ball was being held as they wouldn’t be playing any part in it and they were sure that if they did, in fact, want to know, the only two ways to find out would be to ask the prince or ask the servants most fond of gossiping- neither were particularly pleasant ideas, both bound to come back around and bite them not too soon afterwards. 

The prince was… tolerable, these days, they supposed. Not that they’d say that to anyone if they had someone other than the prince (and occasionally even her majesty herself) to converse with. In those cases, they’d have to put their tongue to good use. Lately, half-truths were sufficing as they came to become more acquainted with the prince when he wasn’t crashing into them and skipping out on lessons he really must take if he’s ever to effectively lead the kingdom at all. 

“Forgive me, but I can’t say I can see the issue in attending this ball, sir.”

The prince groaned as he flopped rather unceremoniously to the ground from where he had been sitting watching Yubel air out the laundry. 

“You don’t understand, everyone’s so stuffy and then they think I’m stuffy ‘cause I have to pretend to be. I can’t even eat any of the food! How stupid is that! So much well-prepared, ready-to-eat food and I can’t even eat any of it!”

They stretched a sheet out as they hung it over the line, deliberating for a moment. They really couldn’t say that this was an issue they’d ever had, surprisingly, and it seemed very much like a prince-only problem. 

“Well,” they began, “maybe you shouldn’t have gorged yourself so much at the last ball you fell sick and almost passed out.” 

The prince startled upwards back into a sitting position, leaning forward, eyes wide. “How did you know about that?!” 

“The castle walls talk.” 

“No they don’t, I think I’d have at least been told if the castle had had that sort of magic cast upon it.” 

Yubel sighed. Right. They almost forgot. The prince was stupendously lacking when it came to common sense. 

“What I mean is, servants talk. I may not be well-acquainted with them, but you’ll be astounded what people say around those they regard as beneath them. Almost as though they never even existed at all.” 

The prince eyed Yubel for a moment silently before humming in subdued acknowledgement. They should have known better, really, but something about the prince falling silent to a seemingly random remark such as that really rubbed Yubel the wrong way. Despite their claim that the two were most definitely not friends- no matter how much time they were now spending together- they could no longer say that they didn’t care at least a little for the boy. 

“Is something wrong, sir?” They asked, pausing their work and turning their full attention to where he sat. 

“Not really. What’s it like, being invisible, do you think?” 

“You know,” Yubel started, not managing to restrain a brow twitch, “some people may find that question rather insensitive.” 

“No! I didn’t mean it to be, it’s just, well…” he trailed off, seeming as though he didn’t know where he was going with his train of thought. 

“I was always of the mind that you liked attention, sir. I don’t think you’d much like being invisible.” 

“I like it when I’m gaining attention for something I like doing, like during sword training.” 

“I see.”

“I think I might enjoy balls more if I wasn’t a prince,” he continued, leaning back into the grass, balancing on the palms of his hands, “I wouldn’t have to approach others to make sure connections lasted the generation and maybe people would be less false in their intentions.” 

“I hadn’t considered the intentions of the children approaching you. They are children, after all,” they let their thoughts slip by accident, not that it seemed the prince cared much. 

“It was one of the first things I learned, but I’m not very good at telling who’s trustworthy and who isn’t.” 

“I can see how someone such as yourself would find that an issue, if you don’t mind my saying so.” 

“Of course I don’t. Come on, we’re supposed to be friends, yet you’re still so formal and polite.” The prince pouted while Yubel restrained themself from rolling their eyes. First of all, they most definitely weren’t friends, and second of all, sorry if they were finding it hard to break habits that were put in place to stop them from getting potentially killed or fired. “Besides, what do you mean?” 

“You’re a very straightforward person, _your royal highness_ ,” they made sure to put stress on the use of his formal title just for his previous comment, “so I don’t find it of much surprise that you expect others to be just as such in their intentions.”

The prince seemed to consider this for a moment before slowly nodding in understanding of what they were putting across. 

“Though I do have to say,” Yubel found themself continuing soon afterwards, “your parents are very forgiving. Much more so than I understand other noble parents to be.”

The prince looked incredibly confused at the statement, clearly not understanding the reason behind placing such words in the current conversation. “Uh, yes?” 

“Let me put it this way, sir. Other noble children even younger than you are already getting engaged as we speak, for the sake of their houses. And you should be no different, even if your ‘house’ extends to the kingdom itself. Yet your parents aren’t forcing any women on you and, as I understand, there haven’t been any marriage negotiations for you at all. Correct?” 

The prince nodded. 

“They’re waiting for you to choose. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ball was held with the pretense of helping you socialise with other young ladies your age, in fact. To let you get to know them.” 

“It’s not strange for, for lack of a better word, commoners, to choose who they love though, is it? So why is it strange here?” 

“Two different worlds, sir. It’s nice that the line is blurred in your mind, somewhat, but you must understand that. Even with us commoners it can be difficult to marry for love at times. Some families demand that the woman marrying their son have a dowry of a specific size.”

“I don’t see why anyone would want to get married anyway.” The young boy shook his head. 

“You shouldn’t be like that. You’ll get married someday and you’ll be all the happier for it. Then I’ll have the final laugh here.” 

“So you’re still going to be around that far in the future?” A grin grew on the prince’s face.

Yubel narrowed their eyes before at long last turning back to their work to avoid the embarrassment of showing the light flush on their face, regardless as to whether the prince would be able to notice it or not. 

“Of course I am, being a servant at the castle pays well and includes meals and housing, why would I give that up? That is to say, assuming you don’t lower our wages when you ascend to the throne, sir.” 

“Never!” He seemed shocked at the very notion. “Who knows, I might even give you a raise!” 

“And why would that be?” 

“Because you’re my favourite servant.” 

Yubel blinked. “That’s favouritism, sir. Unless you want me to get bullied out of the castle in the future I advise against it.” 

“You really don’t paint your coworkers in a very favourable light, Yubel.” 

“Well,” they shrugged, “they aren’t the most favourable of sorts. Too much time in the castle does that to you, just you wait until it happens to you.” 

“Won’t it happen to you as well?” 

“Oh, no. I’m far above all that. I keep myself grounded by getting brutally ignored and belittled by everyone around me.” 

Judai startled to his feet and pushed forward, grabbing one of Yubel’s hands just as they picked up a piece of laundry, causing them to drop it in their subsequent surprise. 

“I’d never do that to you! You don’t deserve that.” His expression was surprisingly firm at the statement and it took all that they had to preserve their dignity by not gaping. 

“Well, I… Could you let go of my hand, sir?” The grasp was about as firm as his expression, and yet it felt light and left them a bit lightheaded. 

“Are you alright?” Despite questioning the request, he did as asked, albeit with the expression of a kicked puppy. 

“Yes, I’m quite fine,” they managed out, their throat feeling rough as their skin tingled- an awful burning sensation evocative of that which they hadn’t felt in a long time now. 

The prince was silent for a moment, and they hoped in vain that it would be the end of it. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” They sped up in their hanging up, now eager to hide away within the castle walls, if only for a moment. 

“Alright, well,” they said, “that’s me done. I advise you find something else to do for the time being, I have some rather important work to get seeing to.” 

They didn’t wait for a response before scurrying away, a frown etched onto their face. They couldn’t help but think: what a coward. 

Avoiding their problems was something Yubel was typically very good at, almost to a masterful level. ‘Almost’ meaning they were not quite there yet, as evidenced by their current presence in the queen’s room, accompanied by one annoying prince. 

“I am sure you’ve heard of the ball that will be held here in the castle, correct?” her majesty asked. 

Yubel nodded. “Of course, your majesty.”

They’d come to see the queen a few times now ever since the first, though they were usually for reports on how the prince was faring and, thus, his presence was absent. Today, however, seemed to be different. It was almost enough to send a shiver down their spine, only barely missing for the fact that they were almost sure it couldn’t be anything too horrible. The prince, they’d long since learned now, would likely never talk badly of them and the queen would take his word over all others she heard regarding the two of them, they were sure.

“And I am sure you know that a certain someone is rather vocal about his displeasure regarding his required attendance.”

“Of course.”

The prince didn’t even look guilty at the mention of his loud disobedience. Clearly it was something both he and the queen alike had long since gotten over. 

“Well, Judai and I have come to an agreement. However, the agreement regards a third party that I would be remiss to ask.” 

A pit formed in their stomach. Oh no. 

“That is to say, I am asking if you would accompany Judai to the ball. You would not have to do anything other than stay by his side and make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble, though I know that is no easy task.”

Yubel’s muscles tensed before they willed themself to relax. 

“I would be honoured, madam,” they said, managing to ease a smile. 

“And you’re not just saying that because it is me that’s asking?” 

Of course it was, they told themself in their head, because they’re a liar. 

“Of course not. I do have to question, though, what it is I would wear to such an event, however. I fear I haven’t anything up to standard.” 

“That’s not an issue. I’m the one asking that such a responsibility fall to you, so I shall see to it that you’re prepared.” 

“Thank you, madam.”

“It’s the least I can do. Now that that matter is sorted, Judai could you please leave us for a moment? I have something I would like to speak to Yubel about alone.” 

Surprisingly, the prince vacated the room with relatively little fuss- likely, Yubel imagined, because of the news that he would be going to the ball with someone he liked to at least a certain degree. That, of course, left a confused Yubel. 

“I have a proposition for you. I would like to set you up for a job change.” 

Yubel’s breath hitched. What? Was this some fancy roundabout way of saying they were fired? They couldn’t think of anything they’d done to be fired over. Sure, they were sometimes a little rude to the prince but that was neither here nor there, especially considering the prince never cared and on the few occasions the queen had come across it she’d taken it all in good humour. Was it all a ploy? 

“Calm down, it is nothing bad.” Yubel forced themself to take a deep breath, in then out. “I would like for you to become a personal knight, of sorts, to Judai. Of course, this will come with new tasks and I will make sure your wages reflect the change in difficulty. For comparison’s sake, think of it as being a knight-in-training with more specialised skills.” 

Well, it sure was an offer alright, and they really would be remiss to turn it down considering their circumstances. They were sure that anyone else- certainly any of the current knights-in-training- would leap at the chance, but they couldn’t say they were too sure. Their hesitation showed, clearly, for it didn’t take long for the queen to speak up once more. 

“You don’t have to give me your answer right now, though I hope I won’t be waiting too long.” 

“Thank you, madam.” 

“It’s quite alright. I would like to meet with you tomorrow morning as so I can give further instructions regarding the plans for the ball arrangement. Unless you have any further concerns, you may go.”

To say Yubel was thankful to get out of the room was an understatement. They’d been becoming too comfortable in her majesty’s room in times previous, they concluded. That very well near gave them a heart attack. All of it. Especially the last part. They’d barely fought barehanded, but handling a weapon? That was a whole other matter entirely. Either way, they supposed this meant they wouldn’t be short on things to deliberate over while in their off-hours, now, were they?

From then on, perhaps it would be inaccurate to say that their days had simply turned much busier. Much more hectic, maybe? Alongside doing their original duties, they were expected to attend long, daily etiquette lessons and had been taken aside for tailoring sessions that took much too long. Not only that, but they’d been forced to admit to their etiquette teacher that they didn’t know how to read and were thus assigned another task. They did like the queen, they really did, and was overall very appreciative of all that she’d done for them, but it was clear now more than ever that she must not have understood the workload of being a servant. 

As a result, they constantly found their temper much thinner than it typically was, so it was probably a good thing that they didn’t have the chance to encounter the prince too much. The prince, however, didn’t seem to share this view. 

“Come on, I barely see you! I’ve been keeping my distance when you’re actually working so at least talk with me now!” 

They were in the library- a surprising thing for the prince, to an extent that a few of those who had wandered in had had to double-take in their direction. Yubel was sitting with an etiquette book in front of them while the prince sat very comfortably with nothing. 

“I am to memorise certain parts of this book for tomorrow and, sir, if you don’t mind me saying, considering this is all for your sake I would appreciate if you leave me to my task.” 

The prince slouched over the table as though he had lost all of the bones in his body.   
“Call me by my name and I’ll consider it,” he said, cheek pressed to the wood. 

“You know why I can’t. Especially considering our location, who knows what someone would do if they overheard. Who knows what rumours are already spreading about me on the down-low.” 

“If the location’s the problem then let’s just change it! You can come and sit by me while I do some sword practice and read your book at the same time.”

They didn’t know if they could address that they didn’t think they’d be able to read without silence considering their lackluster reading comprehension while also keeping their pride intact. 

“I’m unable to take the book out of the library,” they tried, which wasn’t a lie, though it wasn’t really their main reason here. 

“I’ll handle that!” The prince grinned and snatched the book, snapping it shut and running away from the table before they could say anything, only watch as he vanished behind some bookshelves. 

They buried their head in their hands. Maybe they should have just said it outright. Or made up some other story to get him off their back- maybe they should just make a run for it now. Alas, it wasn’t until they just began to genuinely consider the option that the prince returned, book in hand and heading straight towards them. 

“Come on! To the training grounds we go!” He grabbed onto Yubel’s wrist and essentially dragged them all the way there, Yubel diligently ignoring the piercing stares of those the two passed, some confused, some amused. 

They’d never really been to the training ground before, they didn’t think. Maybe passed by it but never actually been in it. The prince, however, seemed wholly in his element and it did make sense, really. Everyone knew the prince’s talent and propensity for the sword, his passion for it unmatched just like his skills amongst others his age. 

“Sir, I really don’t think-”

“There’s a bench over there, right in the shade! That would be good for reading, right? It’s not the most comfortable but it’ll work better than the ground!” Their weak plea went over his head. 

Their attention was pointed towards a wooden bench that, quite honestly, looked like it had seen better days, but it was, indeed, in the shade. They wouldn’t know if that would be good for reading, like the prince suggested it may, but it looked like it would at least shield them from the scorching sun. 

They found themself being pushed towards it before they could make much more of a thought on their current situation, book pressed to their chest and subsequently pushed down to sit on the bench. They looked up, squinting as the sun glinted in their eyes, to see the grin of the prince, who looked very proud of himself. Something in them felt kind of bad, actually, knowing that they really would have to tell them that they couldn’t simply stay out there. He looked so proud of himself, too. 

“Listen…” they started, tone soft, the prince’s grin lessening slightly as his attention switched to their words but nevertheless staying present, “I appreciate this, I really do, but I can’t sit here. I did mean it when I said I couldn’t take the book out of the library. I’m sorry but I need to get back.” 

“But… I already got permission to take it out on your behalf?” 

“Yes, and I appreciate that but the thing is, sir, and I do loathe admitting this, but I only just started learning my letters so reading in loud environments is a bit…” 

“You just started learning?!” He sounded genuinely scandalised, even though he himself wasn’t a big fan of reading. He floundered for a moment as he searched for his next words and Yubel kept their gaze out of his own. “And they knew that? And still gave you chapters to memorise?” 

Not quite the reaction they’d been expecting. Though maybe it was a bit foolish to expect otherwise. 

“I see no reason to give me special treatment. I’m already on a time crunch to learn as much as I can.” 

“That’s- That’s even more of a reason to give you special treatment! Give that back.” The prince snatched the book out of their grasp before plopping down right next to them. 

“Excuse me?” 

“What chapters?” 

“What?” 

“What chapters are you to memorise?” 

“The first three, if I remember correctly but-” 

“And where did you get up to?” 

“Chapter two?” 

“Alrighty then,” the prince opened the book to the mentioned chapter and began reading out loud. 

“What are you doing?” Yubel asked, stunned. 

“Reading for you. This isn’t a great introduction to reading, even I know that. Besides, everyone always says I need to brush up on my manners. This is just as helpful to you as it is to me.”

They were silent for a moment, just staring at his face, deadly serious. 

“Okay,” they eventually found themself saying, earning yet another grin from the boy as he began reading yet again. 

Damn, guess they had to admit it to themself now. He really wasn’t that bad, was he? 

The lead-up to the ball was stressful, Yubel would admit, but they were sure that it would have been much more stressful if not for the prince. Turned out that despite his lack of using them, he did know etiquette where it mattered which was a huge help when it came to any questions Yubel had during their few reading sessions that they were too embarrassed to ask their actual teacher (which was, quite honestly, most of them). 

Which brought them to the also stressful day of the event. The prince clearly wasn’t very elated at the fact that he would be present, though he was fond of Yubel going, especially at the idea that all of their hard work would be getting put to use at long last. 

As was customary, the royal family was to enter first: the king, the queen and then the prince himself. Weirdly enough, however, this time someone entered alongside the prince. That someone, obviously, being Yubel themself. They didn’t pretend not to notice the confused and ill-hidden glances sent their way from the nobles in the room. 

“Did the king and queen adopt a child? Is this an announcement ball?” Was one common murmur they heard, eliciting a frown from them every time. The prince never seemed bothered, and either the whispers hadn’t reached the king and queen’s ears or they also weren’t bothered seeing as none of them said anything regarding the matter.

“Judai, go and socialise,” the king prompted. 

Yubel could tell that he was holding in a sigh by the skin of his teeth. 

“Yes father,” he instead answered, which elicited a smile out of the ever-grim looking king. 

As the prince descended from the high perch where he had previously sat alongside his parents (Yubel standing just behind the chair itself, slightly to the side) he made sure to glance behind him to make sure they were following him, something in him easing as they noticed that they were, indeed, doing as they had been instructed. 

“I probably should have said this before, but thanks for agreeing to this whole thing,” the prince whispered, keeping his head high and gaze forward. 

“Don’t mention it, sir.” Yubel did the same. 

There was a small cluster of children- Yubel would hazard that they were aged around eleven to thirteen- all giggling to themselves at what was no doubt some odd in-joke they wouldn’t understand even if they’d been around to hear it. Upon the prince’s approach, they quietened down considerably, offering their curtsies and bows as appropriate after he’d given a nod as greeting. 

“Your royal highness,” one of the girls- plain-faced, long black hair, in a luxurious green gown, Yubel noted. They didn’t think they’d remember them past the night. “It is an honour to be in your presence.” 

The prince took a breath that they were sure the children would not have noticed. “There’s no need to be so formal,” he began, as though he were in his usual spiel before splitting off, “it is meant to be a night to enjoy ourselves after all.” 

“Yes, quite. Tell me, if you wouldn’t mind me asking, who is that alongside you? We weren’t aware the king had any other children…” 

The prince’s face twisted slightly. Was this child trying to imply that his father had been unfaithful? The prince glanced backwards towards Yubel, who in turn nodded their assent. 

“This is my friend and escort to this ball, Yubel. To make sure I don’t get in trouble, I’m told.” Maybe they were inexperienced, but they were sure that the second part of the sentence needn’t have been said at all. 

They stepped forward nonetheless, bowing. “It is nice to meet you, my lady.” They stepped back in place as they straightened up, scanning the group for their reactions. 

“My… I can’t help but notice you never mentioned their house, if you don’t mind my saying so. Does this mean you’re a commoner?” She directed the question towards them. It sounded innocent enough, but it wasn’t hard to tell that there was a condescending tone mixed within. 

“An astute observation, my lady,” Yubel replied, which, in hindsight, was probably stepping over a line they shouldn’t have if the huff was anything to go by. Apparently she’d had enough of them from that miniscule interaction and moved her attention back to the prince. 

“I’m always told by my father that it’s always valuable to have good relationships with the citizens of one’s fyfe. I’m almost envious, I must say. Do you have any pointers, sir?” 

“Not really,” the prince said truthfully, though he sounded a bit unsure, clearly aware that he wasn’t saying what he really should be, “people are people, no matter who they are. They have different needs and personalities, come from different qualities of life, but they are all people nonetheless.” 

“I see, what a lovely way of thinking!” 

“Isn’t it indeed, Lady Astley,” a girl spoke up, approaching from the back, this time a girl with blonde hair and a blue gown, “though I cannot help but feel as though it is going in one ear and out the other with you.” 

“I- and what’s that supposed to mean, if you don’t mind my asking?” The girl- Lady Astley, as Yubel was just now finding out as she had failed to introduce herself earlier- stuttered out, apparently taken aback by the intervention of this newcomer while the other children seemed content to just let whatever happened, happen. 

“You talk of wanting to form better relationships with commoners, and yet you staunchly seem to be ignoring the one here, as an honoured guest and friend of his royal highness, and by extension the entire royal family, as we speak.”

The girl glared, pursing her lips as she tried and failed to think up a good comeback that wouldn’t dig her into a deeper hole. Meanwhile, the prince looked on, face a bit vacant. Yubel shot him a look and he seemed to snap out of it for just long enough to give them an unconvincing smile and shrug. 

“I am deeply sorry for any offense Lady Astley may have caused you, Yubel,” the new young lady said. 

“Not at all,” they excused. The two were not equals. 

“I am sorry to interrupt our conversation, but I’m afraid we have other people we must be greeting. I hope you have a nice rest of your evening,” the prince slid in before any other words could be exchanged. 

“I understand. You too, sir.” 

And with that, the prince was making his way as far away from the group as quickly as possible without breaking out into a sprint. Not that Yubel didn’t understand why. Unresponsive seemed to be the case with most of them and Lady Astley seemed narrow-minded, focused on the prince and his good graces all while not knowing how to stay in them. The other young lady, however, of whom Yubel didn’t get the chance to get a name of, seemed to be a diplomat if nothing else. Perhaps she and the prince would have gotten along had they met in a one-on-one situation. Or, well, that’s what they thought anyway. 

They were only snapped out of their thoughts at long last when the prince stopped to stand by the wall near the food table, full of dishes he was destined for the foreseeable future to look at, but never eat. 

Yubel had thought that he had been truly exaggerating with how awfully painful balls were but the longer they stayed, the less they wanted to be there and the more they understood his reluctance to go. It was a fair night out, if Yubel recalled correctly, so it was a bit of a pity that they were stuck in a ball. 

“Sir, how about we go and get some air? You’ve socialised a bit, as requested, so I’m sure your parents won’t mind too much if you leave the ball for just a moment,” Yubel found themself blurting out soon after having the thought. 

“A great idea! We should hurry before they notice and try to stop us.” 

“Follow me, then.” 

Yubel took the lead, even though really they shouldn’t from the standpoint of the etiquette of it all, and led the prince out of the ballroom through a door connecting to a cold cobble hallway at the back, well hidden by shadows. They could see the prince glance back and then glance at Yubel, confused. 

“This isn’t the way outside…” 

“There’s more than one way out of the castle. Besides, we’re not going outside just yet.” 

“But-” 

Yubel rolled their eyes. “Just trust me.”

Thankfully, this seemed to shut the prince up as they ventured out of the hallway and through many others, heading to what the prince recognised as the servant’s wing, though he wasn’t one to go there often. He shot Yubel another confused look, but seeing as they didn’t say anything, he didn’t say anything either. It wasn’t until they entered one of the rooms, door closed firmly behind them, that Yubel seemed to change course of action, now focused on rummaging around their drawers, pulling out two sets of clothing and a single cloak. They flung the cloak and one of the sets at the prince. 

“See if that fits.” 

“What?” 

“I said, see if that fits, hurry up,” they repeated, already starting to change from the tailored ball-wear into the much more worn casual clothing that they wore on their days off. “You’re around my height so I imagine it would.” 

“Right…” The prince made a valiant attempt to take his attire off, though only found himself partway while Yubel had long since finished. 

“Do you need some help?” 

“... Maybe,” the boy said quietly, face flushed in embarrassment. 

To be honest though, they couldn’t say they didn’t expect it. They knew vaguely that a lot of nobles didn’t dress themselves all the time and while they were pretty sure that the prince had gotten around this societal rule by being stubborn and loud about it that didn’t make the fact that these much fancier clothes were much harder to get in and out of alone- they only knew how to do so because they’d practiced, as someone with no servants and no friends to help.

“There we go,” they said once they clasped the cloak around his neck, flipping the hood up. “Now we’re ready to go.” 

“Go where? I thought we were just going to go out for some air?” 

“We are, I just didn’t think we’d blend in well in such fancy clothes is all.” 

This just seemed to confuse the prince more which, honestly, good. 

Yubel motioned for the prince to follow, who did despite his confusion, thankfully. It wasn’t a far walk out of the castle from the servant’s quarters and his confusion seemed to give way for nervous excitement the minute they stepped out of castle grounds, though he did, admittedly start to wear on their nerves as the two made their way further from the castle with his incessant chatter, mostly comprised of ‘are we there yet?’ to which Yubel would staunchly reply with a ‘no, shut up’. 

“It’s so quiet out here,” The prince said at one point, glancing around. 

“Yeah, tends to happen when it’s night. Can’t go burning candles needlessly and most nights you can’t see well. We’re lucky the moon’s so bright tonight.” 

“Guess so…” 

“Make sure to stick close, I gave you my cloak but I don’t want to be blamed for the kidnapping of the prince.”

“What?!” He leapt to grab onto their arm which only served to make them laugh. 

“Stop laughing! This is serious! You’re so mean.” This only served to make them laugh harder. 

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there, if it makes you feel any better.” 

And it did seem to make him feel better, as he immediately brightened, looking around as though he’d be seeing some fantastical thing any moment now. 

“We’re here,” Yubel eventually declared. 

“Huh? But we’re just on a hill?” 

Yubel nodded with a slight quirk upwards at the edge of their mouth, waiting until a gust of wind had passed before speaking up to give an answer to the sort-of question. 

“Look there, towards the castle.” 

It really was quite the sight, to any who saw it. The castle alight with flames from the inside, while the outside lit its outer walls and surrounding buildings by the moon and stars, cloudless. 

“Woah.” 

“Quite the place to get some air, I would say.” 

“How’d you find this place? Is it popular?” The prince asked, tearing his gaze from the view in order to face Yubel with a look of wonder. 

“I’m not sure, though I don’t think so. I used to come here with my mother back before the both of us worked. Mostly to have picnics, but sometimes we’d just sit and enjoy the view, like we are now.” 

“We should do that! Some morning, when it’s warm. We should come here on a picnic!” The prince proposed, eyes lighting up at his idea. “I’ve never had a picnic before.” 

For some reason they couldn’t quite place, as their eyes locked onto his, they found themself thinking back to that conversation with the queen, proposing that they should become the prince’s personal knight. 

“I think,” they began, tearing their eyes back to the landscape, “that I might just like that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter strayed quite the bit from my notes actually even if it kept most of same beats. Guess that's what all my note-planned projects are destined for at this rate... The bulk, and the parts I clearly had too much fun writing were definitely just the parts of Yubel and Judai interacting and bonding. An indeterminable amount of time has passed since the previous chapter so they somewhat know each other better, as you can probably tell, but any large developments will probably stick to happening in-chapter. I found it really hard to write the kids since dialogue that isn't just casual banter is hard for me and there was supposed to be more stuff there over all, but oh well. It is what it is. 
> 
> You'll notice some changes to how certain characters, most notably Judai, is addressed. This is because I actually looked stuff up for once. The previous chapter also has some minor changes in that regard. 
> 
> The chapter titles come from (in that order) [Midnight City](https://youtu.be/2xo5eHWZbMo) and [Taste the Rain](https://youtu.be/P8jQDHhnAO0).


	3. Fairytale Smile (Moonlight Serenade)

It was peculiar, one may say, that Yubel and the prince both seemed to be busier than ever these days- Yubel with their knight training and Judai having finally started to learn how to apply his powers over the Gentle Darkness- and yet seemed closer than ever. When once they would meet in the dark of night, slowly but surely starting to exchange stories of their laborious daytimes, they now conversed openly in the training grounds, putting their newfound knowledge to the test. 

“I won!” 

Yubel fought to keep themself from frowning, though they feared they hadn’t done a very good job at it as they caught the prince, conversely, fighting a triumphant grin. 

“You do tend to, sir,” Yubel stated, gingerly accepting the hand offered. 

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that! You’re already better than, like half of the other knights-in-training and they’ve been at it for way longer!” 

“You really shouldn’t say that within ear-shot of them, they’re still only tolerating my presence as is.”

“I’m sure you’ll make friends in no time! Don’t worry about it!” 

Yubel shook their head. “I’m not concerned over making friends, one is troublesome enough. It’s just that I may have to fight alongside them, even if you’re my main priority. I may need their help, so I need a decent reputation for them to be reason enough to give it.” 

The prince’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You have a friend? Who?” 

Yubel’s face flushed in recognition of what they’d just said, and consequently what the prince had just picked up on. Their eyes flickered over his face before they turned away and started to walk towards the weapon store to put their wooden training sword away and replace it for their on-duty iron sword. They hoped this would, somehow, make the prince drop the subject, but alas. 

“Wait, wait! Am I the friend?” he asked hopefully, trailing after them to put his own sword away. “I am, aren’t I! I win again!” 

Yubel pursed their lips then proceeded to sigh, but said nothing. 

“Your magic lesson is soon, come on. I’ll walk you there.” 

“What, do you think I’d skip it? I’m not that bad!” 

“I don’t think you’d skip it, you’re well aware of the danger you could cause if you went untrained-” 

“Yeah, don’t remind me. They drilled it into me in the first lesson, the story of Queen Emera and the lack of training she got for simply being the first female ruler, subsequently causing her to go insane, plunging the kingdom into disarray as the Light razed the kingdom. Important stuff.” He tapped his head. “Stored in here for safekeeping.” 

Yubel smiled slightly. “I’m glad something is, sir.” 

“I can’t believe you’d say that to me.” 

“I’m terribly sorry, I haven’t a clue what you mean.” 

“You called me an idiot!” The prince all but squawked, earning him a proper smile this time. 

“I can assure you that I did no such thing, or the king would have my head.”

“We both know he’d never, especially not if I begged him not to.” 

“Then let’s hope you shall never have to beg. Come on, keep moving.”

If it was odd being invisible within the castle walls, it was much more strange to be   
visible within them. That’s what Yubel decided, anyway. The servants either no longer recognised them or did, and just didn’t care, and numerous times they had found themself being talked to. It jarred them the first few times before they found that it was likely a ploy to get close to the prince, for whatever reason. Even if they hadn’t known who Yubel was, getting on their good graces could surely boost their status considering they were the sole knight of his. Some may call it cunning or sly, Yubel just called it a waste of time. Now they were evading the servants for a completely different reason than before. 

It wasn’t even like they could blend into the background if they were ever interacting with the knights themselves either- their surcoat was a dead giveaway. In truth, when they first received it, and even now, it was a source of pride, to get a red one while the other knights wore blue, but it did mean that they stood out as the only knight with a different colour. The only consistency that marked them a knight alongside the others was the intricate embroidery of the raven attacking the dove- the royal family’s coat of arms. They were proud to wear it, but some part of them felt detached from it even after the months they’d been wearing it for. 

“It’s time for us to part ways, sir,” they said, falling to a stop at one of the many large wooden doors. “I shall come and pick you up at the end of the lesson, so make sure you endure the entire lesson and don’t climb out any windows halfway through.” 

The prince pouted but didn’t argue. “Why are you picking me up afterwards? You don’t usually…” 

“Her majesty requests our presence as soon as your magic lesson is complete.” 

“I see… I look forward to it!” The prince flashed a dazzling smile before heading inside, leaving Yubel behind, rooted to the spot. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” they couldn’t help but mutter affectionately, unsure if they truly wanted the prince to hear it or not. Either way, they didn’t want to dwell on it for too long as they spun on their heels and marched towards the library. 

* * *

Perhaps the part of being the prince’s knight-in-training that had unexpectedly become their favourite was the sudden access to the library. The librarian initially hadn’t been too fond of them being there- a knight would surely be too rough with all his prized books- but after various visits (in which his eyes stuck to them like glue even as they sat for long periods of time)- including a few in which they’d managed to coax the prince to come under the terms that any studying that he did, it would also be studying for them- he’d loosened up and allowed them to roam much more freely, and his gaze seemed much less judgemental. 

Yubel… it wouldn’t be to say that they enjoyed studying, if their boredom from previous stints with etiquette was anything to go by, but they did adore reading and acquiring new knowledge. Maths had quite quickly become a favourite, and they’d taken a fancy to astronomy, as well. Not that the prince needed to know that. They didn’t think linguistics would ever be for them- while they knew some basic maths to aid as a jumping off point in the more complex, getting a late start on linguistics seemed to really hamper their enjoyment of it, constantly worried the prince would suddenly make fun of them for not knowing certain words despite the fact that that would be exceedingly out of character. 

No matter their feelings about linguistics, however, as the matter was that whenever they weren’t training (which was still a considerable amount of time), they’d be exercising their brain in the library. They’d even run into some of the prince’s tutors as they’d come to fetch materials in preparation for lessons and received some rather embarrassing praise for finally getting the prince to study- seriously, as begrudging as some of it was, it was incredibly odd to be praised by some nobles. Not that they could say much, as someone who’s two main partners of conversation consisted of the prince and the queen. 

Today’s book of choice was on magic. While, of course, it may seem impractical to learn about something they’d never use, they felt it worthwhile for keeping up conversations with the prince or trying to understand them at all when they turned to the deeper parts of his lessons. 

It wasn’t a particularly thick book- for that they were glad- though they were sure it would be full of technical words they weren’t all too sure of. It was for that reason that they pulled out a dictionary to bring alongside to the table, just in case. It was quite marvellous to look at; as black as the night sky with golden flecks placed somehow both messily and as though they’d been carefully calculated. Truly, they were sure it must be one of the few of its kind. Perhaps even the only one. 

A lot of its contents covered the average spells first, separated by element, gradually building its way up to intermediate. As for more advanced spells, well, all that was really written was a whole lot of spiel and jargon that could honestly be summed up as ‘get a teacher’. Well, it was, at the very least, sound advice. Not very helpful to them, though, as someone looking not to perform magic, but to learn about it. The history in it was annoyingly minimal as well, only going for the main points and not the intricacies. The only part that was spared no labour was that of Divine magic and Light magic. 

Divine magic was a special magic, according to the book, able to purify and heal instantaneously. It is, however, easily engulfed and corrupted due to its closeness to Light. Light magic is extremely dangerous and, while not all bad, anyone claiming to use Light magic should be given great caution as it makes them much more susceptible to corruption than even their Divine counterparts. It even went as far as stating that in certain towns and villages, Light magic was completely outlawed. 

Well, it wasn’t as though they couldn’t understand that. Their mother’s own father was killed in the previous war against the Light of Destruction. It was terrible, their mother had told them, many were left impoverished with half the country dead from either fighting for the Light or against it and the other half terrified of one another. 

“I pray every night that I never have to see the Light again,” their mother said once, covered by the soft blanket of night, “watching it corrupt a person is the most terrifying thing. You barely realise at first but then they start acting more and more different until they’re unrecognisable. I can only hope and pray that neither of us will bear witness to it.” 

They never forgot that night, or any similar to it, for it happened each year. Twice, usually. Once on the anniversary of when she always presumed she last talked to her father and not just the face that looked like him, and then again on the anniversary of the battle. There was no festival or celebration or day off in remembrance, for if they had one then they’d have to have one for all the other wars against the Light of Destruction, and there were simply so many that nothing would get done. 

They shook their head and closed the book. There was no use in having such thoughts now, with any luck they’d never encounter the Light just as their mother had hoped of them. Not that it was in their control, albeit a nice thought. They glanced up and over to the top of the doorframe, spotting the clock. Two forty-five. Almost time for the lesson to end, just enough time for them to get to the room and collect the prince on time. 

With as much haste as they possibly could while also not disturbing the other patrons or the librarian, Yubel hurriedly placed the books away and rushed out the doors, making a sharp left and marching their way to their location. 

* * *

“What is it you think mother would like to tell us?” The prince asked, almost skipping as they made for her majesty’s door. 

“I’m unsure. I doubt her majesty would call for both of us if it were just for a regular check-in.” 

“Maybe it’s big news!”

Yubel hummed noncommittally, but otherwise said nothing. 

The prince frowned, deflating a bit at their lack of enthusiasm, though he still had a noticeable hop in his step. “You really need to work on your imagination.”

“You’ve got enough imagination for the both of us, sir.”

The prince hummed. “Yes, well, I suppose that’s true.” 

Yubel bit back a response as they came to a stop, realising that their conversation was forcefully interrupted by the door to her majesty’s chambers. They glanced at the prince, meeting his eyes before his own turned back towards the door, their own following soon after. They stepped in front of him, pushing the door open and allowing him passage before closing the door behind them both. 

They stared at the bed for a quick moment before realising the queen wasn’t there and glanced around in a panic, only to realise she was sitting on one of the armchairs by the lit fireplace. If the temperature of the room was of any indication, it must have been lit quite a while ago, though it was mid-spring, so there was every chance the temperature was only boosted by the natural heat. 

“Ah, you’re here, and just on time as well.” 

“Your majesty,” Yubel greeted with a bow. 

The prince, as tactful as ever, instead went for a different approach. His face split into a wide grin as he practically sprinted his way over, engulfing his mother in a tight embrace and leaving Yubel to play catch up. 

“Are you feeling better today?” He wasted no time in asking, taking his place in the armchair directly across from her. Yubel came to a stop by the side of the chair, displaced slightly to the back. 

“Quite. It must be the air of spring breathing new life into me.”

“That’s great! Maybe you’ll be up and about by summer! We could go to one of the festivals in town undercover like you said you and father used to do!” 

The queen chuckled, eyes crinkling. “Yes, perhaps, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here.”

The prince nodded. “Why did you call us here anyway?”

“I just wanted to hear how you’re getting on, from each other’s mouths this time and not your own.” 

This… well, they’d be honest, this perplexed Yubel. Clearly, it confused the prince as well as he glanced up at them in hopes of receiving answers, though they could only shrug in response. They usually talked about the prince’s progress anyway, so they didn’t see why this time was any different.

“Well,” Yubel started, hesitant, “I’ve got it on record that his royal highness is attending all of his classes as of late, the vast majority of the time he is doing so for the full duration as well. He’s also studying more despite the added workload of his magic control lessons. Instead of bothering me in his spare time, a lot of his spare time is spent sparring with me instead, which I am immensely grateful for.” Even if he did keep winning. 

“I see… and Judai?”

“Well, they still refuse to call me by my name, for one,” the prince pouted, “and they spend so much time nagging at me to study! But I guess other than that they’re always busy. They study a lot, and they spar a lot, sometimes with other knights-in-training and sometimes with me. If no one’s available I’ve seen them training against the wooden targets. Really, when I think about it all they do is train, which is probably not so good when I think about it.” He turned to look at Yubel, cocking his head slightly. “You know, my instructor always says that if I practice too much I’ll just end up ruining my body.” 

The queen leaned back, fingers laced together on her lap. 

“I was worried about that,” she eventually said. 

“P-pardon, ma’am?” Yubel stuttered out. 

“I did figure that you were the type to overwork yourself,” she elaborated, “and I would rather that my son was not without his precious knight. I’m sure he would also appreciate it- you wouldn’t want to worry him, would you?” 

They felt their neck warm up and their face flush, embarrassed by, well, multiple things in the statement. It was one thing to be called out for potentially overworking themself but it was a whole other thing entirely to call them the prince’s ‘precious knight’. They hunched their shoulders slightly, tense. 

“Relax, Yubel. I think you should take a break, is all. Perhaps you could go home and visit your family?” She suggested. 

Both Yubel and the prince cringed. “Ah, actually, ma’am, the castle is my home now. My family is… no longer here.” 

“Oh my! I’m very sorry, how ungracious of me. My condolences.” She brought a delicate hand to her chin and stared downwards in thought in silence for a few moments before lifting her head and dropping her hand to her lap once more, seemingly having found what she was looking for. 

“How about this,” she began, “we’ll give you the week off. Sparring is prohibited- I’ll tell the captain of the knights not to allow you on training grounds until this time next week. You’re free to go down into the city at your leisure in the meantime. Judai,” she turned her head to her son, “I’m counting on you to make sure they don’t do anything brash.”

Judai nodded very seriously while Yubel was seconds away from spontaneously combusting. They could quite honestly say that they weren’t very happy with the arrangement made without their input, but they didn’t say as much and instead kept their mouth clamped firmly shut. 

The queen glanced at Yubel briefly, though she never breached the topic, instead dismissing them. 

“Well,” the prince said as soon as they were out, “at least you managed to get in sparring practice earlier today rather than leaving it for later?” 

* * *

Two days was all it took for the lack of physical movement to take a toll on Yubel. As they weren’t allowed in the training grounds- they had tried and gotten swiftly chased out by the captain himself- they couldn’t even do proper laps and, while they had talked to some of the knights-in-training in the barracks about it, none of them could sympathise. Apparently they were rather enjoying Yubel’s torment, one even guiltily mentioning that there was a betting pool on how long it’d take until they broke.

They spent their first day largely in town and, quite honestly, it wasn’t all too bad. They visited their mother’s grave, chatted to her a bit, and wandered around aimlessly. It was odd, this lack of routine, lack of purpose, but they thought they could maybe get used to it. Then day two struck and they found themself cooped up in the library all day. Even the librarian seemed to be worried about them after a certain stretch of time in which they just stared at the same page in a book. By the time day three rolled around everyone was avoiding them, whispering and exchanging glances. They seemed as though a dead person had gotten up and started wandering around the castle. 

A bit of life was jolted into them, suddenly, as they found themself suddenly blinded, though they felt nothing covering their face, and seemingly tripping over nothing before they could subsequently attack. They scrambled to their feet, wildly wiping at their eyes before their vision was brought back, only to find the prince staring at them, concerned. 

“Are you okay? I was just trying to give you a fright, I didn’t think you’d really freak out like that…” he said, brown eyes wide and, for some reason, scared. 

“I’m- listen I’m more awake than I am asleep. Just don’t do it again. Please. How did you do it anyway?” If they were any more aware, they may have noticed the lack of formalities. 

“Ah, the Gentle Darkness. I forgot that I haven’t really shown you them. I’m not supposed to use them outside of lessons but… it’s studying?”

The uncertainty of the prince’s justification shouldn’t have come across as funny as it did, but Yubel found themself bursting out in laughter anyway. Judai blinked, confused, before he adopted a soft smile- not that Yubel was watching to see it anyway. 

“I think…” the prince started, hesitating. 

“You think…?” Yubel echoed, coughing the remnants of laughter out of themself. 

“I think mother may have been wrong. To stop you from training. I mean, uh, not wrong wrong but… maybe a bit harsh? You should still be able to train, but maybe just for a limited amount of time?” 

  
“Is this… your first time disagreeing with her majesty?” Yubel asked, incredulous. Surely it couldn’t have been- even they had disagreed with their mother a lot, no matter how much they loved her- and the prince and them were around the same age. 

The prince nodded after a moment, his face flushed in embarrassment. Now, that wasn’t a sight one saw often. 

“Well… there’s nothing we can do about it now. When her majesty has made a decision, it’s final. I’ll survive, somehow.” 

“I- But-” The prince seemed frustrated, brows scrunched up and fists clenched. Yubel looked at them, head lilting slightly, only for it to straighten up as the prince’s eyes lightened up. “Ah! I know. In two days! On Saturday! Meet me at the stones by the back of the castle! You know the ones, the huge blue-ish ones by the ocean! At, uh… five! Five pm!” 

Yubel’s only able to nod before the prince runs off, back the way he came, a question dying on their lips. Oh well, they figured with a smile, at least there was something to look forward to. 

* * *

The days leading up to Saturday were boring, yet somehow bearable if only by the fuel of knowing something interesting was to happen- there was never a dull day with the prince, after all, not even if you wished it. Maybe even especially so. It was for this reason that, once Saturday did finally roll around, they couldn’t help but feel the excitement in their gut. 

First, however, they would have to get through the day. It was a bit of a struggle at first, quite honestly, but after they figured out what they wanted to do, they found that they’d made their life infinitely easier. They were going to go down into the city and find a gift for the prince. Clearly, he was trying to cheer them up, and they weren’t going to just not give him anything as a thank you. What one got a prince, they didn’t know, however. 

Even by the time they were well into the shopping district they found themself unknowing, increasingly. The prince liked food, sure, but they were sure that he could always get much better food than anything they could afford at the castle already. He wasn’t much for trinkets- or he didn’t seem as such- though they were sure that he would still be grateful to receive one. 

They thought back through all their years as a castle, especially the last one in which they had initially become properly acquainted with the prince and something clicked- an idea forming in their mind. They glanced at their pouch of money. Nowadays they earned much higher than they previously did, and they earned more than the standard knights-in-training (not that they needed to know that) too and yet even still this would drain most of their funds. They sighed. Oh well, it wasn’t like they were going to spend it on anything else anyway. 

* * *

It was twilight when Yubel approached the stones overlooking the sea, just as the prince had told them. Some part of them felt oddly nervous. What they’d been called out for was still a mystery, and whenever they had tried to ask the prince he’d just smile and say that they’d find out when the time came. Now was the time, it seemed. They grasped their present in two hands in front of them, wrapped in spare cloth and tied with string. 

They spotted him almost immediately. His figure, although never tall, seemed imposing on the twilight background, waves crashing against the stones beneath and the light of the setting sun outlining his figure. They barely managed to snap out of their thoughts in order to catch what was thrown to them. 

“A wooden sword?” they asked. 

“If you can’t practice on the training grounds, then maybe we should just have a private session. Just the two of us.” 

Something about everything in the moment made their heart hammer and a smile rose to their face, stretching until their cheeks hurt. They placed down their parcel, not noticing the prince’s eyes track it with a sense of both confusion and curiosity. 

Their swords clashed in a familiar wooden clunk, the prince’s blade against Yubel’s flat. They pushed back, causing the prince to take a few steps back. They circled for a brief moment before Yubel darted to the left, ducking as they went in to slash, only for the prince to dodge and thrust his sword forward, clearly hoping to faux skewer them as they regained their thoughts, only for them to bring their sword up to guard. 

“And here I thought you’d be rusty after a few days.” 

“Muscles always remember.” 

Yubel twisted their sword, shocking the prince as he had been readying a response, knocking it out of his hand. 

“I think… that victory goes to me,” they said, taking a few deep breaths. 

“Your first and only victory.” 

“I’ll only get better. It won’t do for me to not be able to beat you at least once, as your knight.” 

“Of course not, I imagine you’ll only give your best.” 

“Always.” 

“I have more to my surprise,” the prince continued, picking his sword up from where it had been tossed, waving for Yubel to follow them. 

They picked up their present, none the worse for wear, and did as instructed, only to find a basket sitting on the ground where the prince was kneeling down, unpacking it to reveal food. 

“It’s maybe a bit selfish of me, but I did tell you how I’ve never been on a picnic. I was hoping my first one would be on that hill you showed me, that one night, but here is good too. Not a lot of people come here.”

“Did the cook make this for you?” 

“Mhm, I mentioned it was for you and she was happy to cooperate- she’s the one you said was friends with your mother, right?” he replied almost absently before continuing from what he was saying before. “If that hill is your special place, then this is mine! My mother used to come here a lot too, she said she stood here a lot to think over big decisions.” 

“And? Have you been thinking about any big decisions lately?” 

“Yes, actually. I just made up my mind about a pretty big one.” 

“Oh?” 

The prince shifted closer to them and Yubel leaned in almost subconsciously, thinking that the prince was going to whisper something, only for them to hear not a noise, but feel a sensation. One that they had both not felt in a long time and felt before. The feeling of one’s lips on their skin. Whether it be their cheek, like their mother had once, or the back of their hand, like the prince just had, their brain still surmised that it was a kiss. But this one felt undeniably different. It made their stomach flutter and dance and tumble and their face heated not in embarrassment but in… something. 

They hastily pulled their hand away and the prince looked up at them, confused and… it almost seemed like he seemed hurt. 

“Sir, you can’t just do that to people! You can only do it with family and lovers! It’s very intimate!” 

For once, it seemed the prince was giving them the look that they’d given him so many times. “I know I’m not the smartest, but I’m not that stupid, Yubel. I know what a kiss is. I know who you give it to and when and why.” 

“I- wh- uh- Sir-”

“Please don’t call me ‘sir’, or ‘your royal highness’, or any variant you can think of.”

“But-”

“Please, at least in your response, just for once, if only.”

“J-” they paused, it already felt odd, yet strangely comforting, on their tongue, “Judai, I don’t… why?” 

“Why what?” 

“You know, just… why?” 

“Because? Because you’re you? I don’t know. My heart says it has to be you. That you’re the one for me. That’s why. There’s no deeper reason.” 

“I… I don’t know…”  
  
“It’s alright if you say no. I don’t- I don’t want you to feel pressured.” 

“It’s not that. I do… I do think I feel the same way. Or that I feel similarly, but I don’t know how to respond. How would saying yes change my life? I like the life I have now. It’s been improving so much lately, I’ve been so happy and I’m just… scared of knowing that could change.” 

“I’d be with you,” the prince- Judai- offered, grasping their hand in-between his hands. “I’d help you, whenever you feel scared, I’ll be there. I’m on your side.”

Yubel stared into his eyes, lost in their sincerity, their unusual seriousness. Ah, they thought suddenly, so this is what it’s like to love and be loved. So this is what it’s like when the prince is serious. 

“I can’t promise I’ll always be able to be who you want me to be,” they finally said.

“You only need to be you.” 

“Then… if it’s me you want, then for you, I’m willing to try,” they said, a shadow of a smile gracing their features, “Judai.” 

Judai’s face lit up, his eyes brightening, seriousness replaced completely with a giddy sense of joy as he launched himself to embrace Yubel. It took a moment for them to stop being tense and relax into his hold, their own arms finding their way around his torso, squeezing just ever so slightly. 

“Ah, that’s right,” they said all of a sudden, just remembering and pulling out of the hug. Judai looked like someone had kicked his puppy for all of one second before Yubel found what they were glancing around for and held the cloth-wrapped present in the empty space between them. 

“It was meant as a thank you gift, for trying to cheer me up. Though now I suppose it’s something more.” 

Curious, Judai removed the string and then removed the cloth, revealing a full set of clothes. Nothing he’d ever wear if only for his status, though he recalled wearing something similar just the once. 

“Some common clothes, complete with a cloak,” they supplied, “I was thinking we could have a picnic on the hill I showed you. You beat me to your first picnic, though could I perhaps still steal away your first date?” 

A light pink dusted Judai’s cheeks as he gaped at Yubel, then at the clothes, a soft smile blooming onto his face, enchanting in a way that Yubel had never thought of his smiles before, full of love and adoration in a different way than he’d expressed towards anyone before, unique and just for them. That’s how it felt. 

“I’d like that.” 

* * *

They were still over the moon for days after that one fine twilight, though they personally thought they did pretty well hiding it, even if Judai himself seemed intent on being as loud as possible while talking to anything related to it. 

“The king wants to speak to me? What for?” 

“How should I know? I was just told to fetch you,” the servant said, not particularly in an unkind fashion, though certainly not kindly either. 

They hummed, though they followed the maid anyway, eventually finding their way to the side of the king on one of the many balconies of the castle. 

The two exchanged mild pleasantries at first, increasing Yubel’s suspicions. The king was never known for beating around the bush. 

“You are close with my son, correct?” 

“I suppose you could say that, your majesty.”

“How would you feel about participating in an experiment?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops there's the plot. 
> 
> this one took a while 'cause uh i'm stupid and uni started back up. to add to my stupidity i decided to join the ygo big bang this year so uh... look forward to that one i guess. not much i can think to say this time unless you're up for hearing about the dream i had last night. oh and also, as of writing this i've gotten sixty nine readers. heh. nice. i'm an adult, can you tell? 
> 
> anyway, songs from this chapter are [Fading Hours](https://youtu.be/s9nivgr8E8s) and [Running at the Dark](https://youtu.be/f1vn6E8kiPM) (in that order).

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, leave a comment and/or kudos if you did! It'd be much appreciated. Find me on Tumblr at [future-circuit!](http://future-circuit.tumblr.com/)


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